


Silence, my (former) lover

by Wrathofscribbles



Series: Zack Fair, Dovahkiin extraordinaire [1]
Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-12
Updated: 2020-09-12
Packaged: 2021-03-06 14:22:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,392
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26320357
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wrathofscribbles/pseuds/Wrathofscribbles
Summary: In which the peace of a Sanctuary is shattered by none other than Zack Fair literally falling from the sky.
Series: Zack Fair, Dovahkiin extraordinaire [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1912486
Comments: 2
Kudos: 9





	Silence, my (former) lover

**Author's Note:**

  * For [WindupKuponut](https://archiveofourown.org/users/WindupKuponut/gifts).



> Reminder that FFVII and all recognisable content is property of Square Enix, and Skyrim the property of Bethesda. I'm just a fan of both building a little sandcastle between the play areas they've created for the masses.
> 
> For a dear friend who not only listens to the ideas I throw out my tiny corner of the void, but _encourages_ them ♥

The eddies of smoke and shadow rip away from Zack all at once, taking with them the sense of weightlessness. In their wake, a chill gale batters his face and steals the breath from his lungs. He can't even _gasp_ at the shock of cold, let alone shout a string of curses at the Daedric Prince for his trickery.

Laughter in the confines of his own skull, warm and _delighted_ , immediately shoved aside as he slams with all the grace of a drunken giant into something very big and very _solid_ , something _in motion_. He scrabbles for purchase as it lurches to the side, squinting in the predawn murk, and as his eyes focus and piece together details of a wholly _dreadful_ picture, somewhere behind and to his right Cloud _screams._

The dragon they've been unceremoniously dumped on levels into a glide as it swivels its head around to investigate the sudden pests scuttling around on its back, rage _flaring_ in the eye it fixes upon Zack and that's the only warning he get before the beast's ribcage expands and its maw snaps wide and a wordless _Shout_ spews forth to shake the very heavens, knocking Zack topsy turvy into free-fall.

_Fucking fuckity **fuck.**_

* * *

It's always been a gamble to engage dragons in battle, to provoke the _outrage_ of creatures so ancient they dwarf him body _and_ soul. It's always been a coin toss as to whether he'll limp away with his life intact or meet his grisly end caught in their jaws. Savage like no other, tearing a mammoth apart with but a single clamp of teeth, the whip-strike of a tail knocking giants and trolls dead, the fire of some melting stone and metal and the ice of others turning victims into glittering gemstones. They _rage_ as if they can tear the very world apart and yet _this_ dragon... it dies quietly in the end, by _Cloud's_ hand and the magic he wields, not Zack's.

_Alteration_ , first, a dozen magelights winking into existence and spinning around its head, bright and blinding as the sun, a distraction from where Zack slogs up to his waist in seawater, desperate for land even as nature's most ruthless killer threatens to drag him back under. _Illusion,_ next, a mirror of Zack some fifty paces away, presenting the dragon a delicate choice between prey and bait. A _mistake_ when it recognises _Cloud_ as the immediate threat, mist curling 'round its maw and _inhales_ \- but he Shouts first, clips a wing mid-beat and its breath sprays frost across the shoreline instead. _Destruction_ , to follow, his vampire companion a blur of motion in the periphery of his vision as the dragon lands in a graceless crash, wings stiff and creaking with ice chasing along the map of veins, and where he runs the dragon follows, a gift of _time_ for Zack to close the distance. He doesn't waste it.

His first swing shatters scales. His second draws blood, a scalding spray of it when he pulls the battleaxe free for a _third_ , only to drop and roll when the dragon rears back and swipes at him with claws the length and breadth of his arm. More magic, ice fashioned into spears, he can't see their points of impact but he can _hear_ them, thuds that turn his stomach and he's glad for the deafening roar, for the pain and _fury_ he's so used to, and he hefts the battleaxe, charges in to return the favour of distraction so both he and Cloud can survive this encounter.

It dies quietly in the end, by Cloud's hand and the magic he wields, the destruction magic he has _absolute_ control over, all that ice encasing its wings and burrowed deep into flesh and muscle and bone, a trap sprung shut if ever Zack has seen one. Cloud only flicks his fingers out from the tight fist he'd had them curled in, such a _simple_ gesture, and all that ice... it _shatters_ , taking the dragon's ability to _fly_ with it. Oh it's a noisy bastard, then, of course it is, but not for long, not with shock and blood loss to account for. And there _is_ blood, so much of it, soaked into their boots, spattered across his armour, his face, all over his hands. Most dragons die with one final trick under their scales, _doom_ in their eyes as they fix on the Dragonborn, attempt to shred him apart with their Thu'um even as the life escapes them in a rush of _heat_ and energy, both stolen by their executioner. _Most_ dragons, but this one. Head brought low and eyes already closed, it passes with only a faint huff of breath, so unlike the gusting rasp down a raw and aching throat.

Cloud, already pale from so many years _locked up in a cave_ , resembles a ghost under all the grime when he picks his way to Zack's side, cautiously flitting around the edge of where one soul dissolves into another. And, being the undead dead guy he is, has no need of the air Zack gulps down and patiently waits for him to do so, hands harmless and innocent where they're settled on his hips, brows hitched upward in... disbelief? Curiosity? Who the fuck knows.

" _That_ ," he wheezes, doubled over and holding onto his knees for dear life lest he topple over and wind up face first in seawater again, "was not - ' _spitting distance - from Dawnstar' -_ you fuck."

**Of course it was, lad,** replies the Daedric Prince granted a front row seat to the entirety of his life (yay for _stupidly bad decisions)_. **As most dragons are quite keen to demonstrate - they can huck fireballs quite far. 'Twas a _dragon's_ spitting distance.**

"Ooooooh I hate you."

**Hate walks a fine line with love, my dear mortal. Your consideration of me is a sweet balm to my soul.**

"Are you well, Zack?" Cloud asks, drawing him away from his seemingly one-sided conversation. He takes another deep breath, smoother than the one before last, and dares to straighten up without support, test his weight on limbs gone the usual wobbly after the theft of a dragon's soul, still settling too-hot and smarting between his ribs.

"As well - as I'll ever be. C'mon." And when he sets off at a brisk walk through blood and snow and split stone, the vampire once again falls into step a respectful distance behind him, away from the temptation of the pulse hammering away in his throat.

* * *

He flops over when the Sanctuary door swings open on soundless hinges, uncaring that it plants him shivering and vulnerable right at _another_ vampire's feet. To be concerned requires more energy than he _has_ with how quickly the rush of a soul wears off, how quickly the warmth seeps from his limbs when shadows are a necessity for his companion. Eyes the colour of cut jade and as cold as the ice Cloud can summon and throw from his fingertips stare down at him, silver hair falling over broad shoulders as Sephiroth leans over him, arms folded across his chest, and nostrils flared. Probably at whatever unholy stench Zack makes from battle - fear and blood and leather and metal and still-jittering nerves wouldn't make for a floral aroma, right?

"Zackary. To what do I owe the displeasure of this visit?"

"Aw Seph, don't be like that, you'll hurt my heart."

"Your heart, I'm sure, is fine. The same cannot be said for your thick skull."

His mouth pops open with an inaudible _oh_ of surprise, hands clapped to his chest in mock insult, catching the twitch of a smile at the very corner of Sephiroth's mouth despite his desert-dry tone. A jab _Zack_ knows to be friendly, but not someone unfamiliar with him. Someone, say, rising silently from their crouch and _moving_ fast as a striking snake. Someone with the same kind of strength as another of their kin, _more_ even, if they're older. He only catches a glimpse of Cloud's cloak before he slams into the other vampire and both of them tumble backward, right into a den of assassins.

Leaving Zack, still caught in the delicate trappings of a mortal body, out in the cold, hand still in the process of rising as if to grab either of them and stop the brewing scuffle.

_Well_ then.

"Shit."


End file.
